MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced a 4,000 increase in the honoraria for teachers working with the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
The increase is subject to withholding tax and will apply to poll workers in different roles, with chairpersons set to receive ₱10,000, electoral board members to receive ₱9,000, and support personnel to receive ₱8,000.
Comelec also stated that it is seeking an additional ₱2,000 in compensation for workers who will work overtime.
The electoral commission revealed it has sufficient funds to cover the raise, as it has saved a large amount from its budget of 8.4 billion for barangay and SK elections.
Comelec chairman George Garcia explained that the savings resulted from acquiring the least expensive equipment for procurement.
“Kaya nating masustentuhan ‘yun. May mga isa-sacrifice lang kami na operational cost.”
Comelec chairman George Garcia
(We can sustain that. We just have to sacrifice a portion of our operational costs.)
In response to Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s request, Garcia also said that they are looking into whether they can pay teachers’ honoraria ahead of time. But they still need Commission on Audit approval.
The filing period was adjusted to August 28 to September 2 from July 3 to 7 after Senator Francis Tolentino expressed concern that the original schedule might “burden” local government units.
Comelec said the new schedule would allow for more preparations and decrease the possibility of election-related violence.